Eliot Gershenson, president and CEO of Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston, left, and Reginald Adams, president and CEO of the Museum of Cultural Arts, chat during the unveiling of four “Sacred Sites” murals at the Interfaith Ministries building on Sunday. High school students from across the Houston area visited several religious sites and collaborated in the creation of the murals. less

Eliot Gershenson, president and CEO of Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston, left, and Reginald Adams, president and CEO of the Museum of Cultural Arts, chat during the unveiling of four “Sacred Sites” ... more

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Students’ visits to ‘sacred sites’ of faith lead to art, unity within diversity

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The greater Houston area has often been described as one of the most diverse cities in the nation — and that diversity extends to the religious traditions followed by its residents.

On Saturday, students from schools across the area showed off the fruits of spending several weeks studying other faiths by unveiling four murals they created to adorn the exterior wall of Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston, a nonprofit agency promotes interfaith relations as well as performs a variety of social services, including Meals on Wheels.

The project, called “Sacred Sites Quest,” was a joint effort of the Boniuk Center for Religious Tolerance at Rice University and the Museum of Cultural Arts (MOCA), which specializes in creating public art throughout the city.

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Dozens of people gathered outside the Interfaith Ministries building, 3217 Montrose Blvd., on a bright Sunday afternoon to admire the four pieces, each of which is based on a single theme and incorporates accompanying symbols.

Twenty-four students participated in the project, although 17 were present. The others were taking college entrance examinations or otherwise engaged, said Mike Pardee, executive director of the Boniuk Center.

Among the schools represented: Clements and Hightower high schools in Fort Bend ISD; The Chinquapin School, a college preparatory school for underprivileged youth in The Highlands; Clear Springs High School in Clear Creek ISD; Travis High School in Houston ISD: the Emery/Weiner School, a college preparatory school in southwest Houston; Pearland High School; and the Awty International School in the Memorial area.

Over several weekends beginning in January, the students visited religious sites around the city, including the Chartes Labryinth and the Chapel of St. Basil at the Roman Catholic University of St. Thomas; the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, a stone-and-marble Hindu temple in Stafford; Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral; the nondenominational Rothko Chapel; St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in the Museum District; Dawn Mountain Temple, a Tibetan Buddhist temple in the Montrose area; the Ismaili Jamatkhana and Center, which followers a branch of Shia Islam; the Live Oak Friends Meeting House, a Quaker church in the Heights; Teen How Taoist Temple in Houston; and Congregation Emanu-El, a synagogue in the Rice University area.

In a conference room inside the nonprofit, students took turns talking about their experiences and describing the four vertical panels.

Wasim Khawia, a Clements student, called the project “one of the most unique experiences I’ve ever had.” He said getting to learn about the different faith traditions with the other students was very enlightening for him.

Eduardo Belalcazar, 18, of The Chinquapin School, called the project “a marvelous idea that somebody had.” When the students first gathered together at the Boniuk Center, “we were all strangers.” But as they visited the different sites, they formed bonds and learned that for all the differences among the religions, “there are a lot of similarities.”

“At the end of it, we’re all looking for spiritual enlightenment,” he said.

Aamir Ghesani, 18, a Clements student, said the project had three objectives: fostering religious literacy, building relationships among the youths of different faiths; and completing the finished product, the artwork.

Regarding the first, Ghesani said it went beyond simply learning about other religions, but actually acknowledging their inherent worth. “It’s about religious appreciation, not just tolerance.”

The four brightly colored panels, most of which incorporate mirrored glass, Ghesani said, are a testament to “what we’ve been through.”

Each of the panels is based on a single word: light, water, growth and divinity. As the students explained, they came up with designs that explored the themes they found common to all of the faiths they studied.

The “divinity” panel, for instance, includes an image of interlocking arms reaching upward from the earth to the heavens, which are filled with a giant nebula, or star cluster.

Tamar Alvarenga, 17, of The Chinquapin School, said the image was meant to show that all the world’s faiths have validity.

“You need to follow your own path,” she said.

Pardee, the Boniuk Center director, said that while the panels might seem at first glance to contain images relating to specific faiths, there are in fact no such symbols. The students took care to avoid any references to any particular religion, he said.

Reginald Adams, founding director of MOCA, said the project embodied his organization’s goal of creating community-based art that brings people together.

“These young people have planted the seed of an idea that is very key, very fundamental,” he said.